FROST DPS BUILD
Last updated: Update 48 - 6th December 2025
This is a thematic build where I'm not always choosing the most optimal option
A thematic build focused entirely on dealing Frost damage.
SUBCLASSING
Combination
Warden - Winter's Embrace
Arcanist - Herald of the Tome
Nightblade - Assassination
Base Class
This build can use either Warden, Arcanist or Nightblade as your base class
SKILL SETUPS
Base Setup
A base setup that will work for most situations and which should be your starting point when making situational setups
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Wield Soul | Slot 1: Winter's Revenge |
| Slot 2: Torchbearer | Slot 2: Arctic Blast |
| Slot 3: Tentacular Dread | Slot 3: Barbed Trap |
| Slot 4: Deadly Cloak | Slot 4: Stampede |
| Slot 5: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 5: Recuperative Treatise |
| Ultimate: Soul Harvest | Ultimate: Northern Storm |
Wield Soul (
Frost,
Druid’s Resurgence,
Savagery and Prophecy) - a spammable which restores 600 Stamina and Magicka with each use which will be crucial for our sustain. Since it's a single target Frost ability, it has a pretty high base chance (10%) to proc the Chilled status effect. It also provides Major Savagery and Prophecy, allowing us to use Tri-Stat potions
Torchbearer (
Frost,
Lingering Torment,
Heroism) - a 2 second channel during which you deal AoE damage in a cone 3 times and apply a very weak DoT. It becomes your main spammable when out of Magicka. It also provides Minor Heroism, increasing Ultimate generation.
Tentacular Dread - a Crux spender which deals Frost damage and increases enemies' damage taken from you. Since you're only generating Crux with
Recuperative Treatise, it will never go above 1 so the damage taken increase won't go above 7%
Deadly Cloak - this ability deals damage around every 2 seconds for 20 seconds and grants you Major Evasion for the duration, reducing your AoE damage taken by 20%. It's crucial because you need another Stamina ability to reduce the strain on your Magicka pool
Ulfsild's Contingency (
Frost,
Lingering Torment,
Intellect and Endurance) - deals damage in an AoE, applies a 22 second DoT and grants you Minor Intellect and Endurance, increasing your Stamina and Magicka recoveries by 15%. This is your spammable when you need more AoE damage. It's delayed until the next ability but you can trigger it early by simply bashing your enemy.
Soul Harvest - a cheap ultimate that increases target's damage taken from you by 20%. Having it slotted will also cause you to regain 10 Ultimate whenever you deal a final blow against an enemy
Winter's Revenge - a ground DoT with increased chance to proc Chilled
Arctic Blast - deals damage around you instantly and then every 2 seconds for 20 seconds. Has increased chance to proc Chilled
Barbed Trap - a DoT that will also apply Hemorrhage status effect at the start and grant you Minor Force buff, increasing your Critical Damage by 10%
Stampede - a gap closer which leaves a ground DoT under your target which will constantly proc your Weapon Damage enchantment and increase your Direct Damage done thanks to
Merciless Charge set
Recuperative Treatise - an ability improves your sustain, deals decent damage and ensures you'll have at least 1 Crux for your
Tentacular Dread
Northern Storm - a powerful ultimate that deals damage in an AoE, increases your damage done and grants you and your allies Major Protection, reducing your damage taken by 10%
- Whenever you need to slot situational skills, replace
Deadly Cloak unless stated otherwise
Elemental Susceptibility - replacement for
Deadly Cloak if you decide to use Destruction Staff instead of Dual Wield on frontbar
Proximity Detonation - extremely good ability for trash packs, you can pre-buff it a few seconds before entering combat
Trample (
Frost,
Cavalier's Charge,
Heroism) - another extremely good ability for trash packs, you can cast it as you're running into them
Camouflaged Hunter - replacement for
Wield Soul for trash packs. It provides Major Savagery and Prophecy without needing to cast it, unlike
Wield Soul
Fulminating Rune - replacement for
Torchbearer for when you're using a Destruction Staff, since Destruction Staff allows you to regain Magicka with Heavy Attacks so you don't need a Stamina-costing spammable anymore
I don't use a static rotation so this is just a list of priorities. Simply recast abilities when they run out and follow this list of priorities when there are multiple things to refresh
When you use a Destruction Staff on your frontbar, you usually want to fit a Heavy Attack into each Off Balance window. How often you need to do it depends on your sustain, since teammates who provide a lot of it can let you skip Heavy Attacks entirely.
Priority List
- Use
Recuperative Treatise - Use
Stampede - Use
Wield Soul if the Major Savagery and Prophecy buffs are not up - Use
Barbed Trap - Use
Tentacular Dread - Use
Winter’s Revenge - Use
Arctic Blast - Use
Ulfsild's Contingency - Use
Deadly Cloak - Use
Soul Harvest if you won't be able to get another
Northern Storm before the fight ends - Use
Northern Storm - Use
Torchbearer - Use
Torchbearer even if it's already up if you don't have Magicka - Use
Wield Soul
Pre-buff
These abilities can be pre-cast before entering combat
Final Setups
A few examples of final setups you could end up with after applying the situational skills to the base setup
Example of a setup you can use for trash packs
| Front Bar | Back Bar |
|---|---|
| Slot 1: Camouflaged Hunter | Slot 1: Winter's Revenge |
| Slot 2: Torchbearer | Slot 2: Arctic Blast |
| Slot 3: Tentacular Dread | Slot 3: Proximity Detonation |
| Slot 4: Trample | Slot 4: Stampede |
| Slot 5: Ulfsild's Contingency | Slot 5: Recuperative Treatise |
| Ultimate: Soul Harvest | Ultimate: Northern Storm |
EXPLANATION:
Camouflaged Hunter replaces
Wield Soul
Trample replaces
Deadly Cloak
Proximity Detonation replaces
Barbed Trap
PASSIVES
There are no passives you need to skip with this build, unless you're using an Ice Staff
Class
Weapon
Armor
Guild
Alliance War
Racial
Craft
Class - Winter's Embrace
Glacial Presence - High Priority
Frozen Armor - Medium Priority
Icy Aura - Low Priority
Piercing Cold - High Priority
GEAR
Base Setup
A base setup that will work for most situations and which should be your starting point when making situational setups
Switching gear for trash packs isn't worth it unless you're using gear-swap addons
Default setup
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Head |
Medium | |||
![]() Shoulders |
Light | |||
![]() Chest |
Light | |||
![]() Hands |
Light | |||
![]() Belt |
Light | |||
![]() Legs |
Light | |||
![]() Boots |
Light | |||
![]() Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Frontbar Main Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Frontbar Off Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Backbar Main Hand |
Greatsword |
Gear that can be stronger than the setup from the table in specific situations or when specific circumstances are present
Velothi Ur-Mage’s Amulet - extremely strong Mythic for trash and AoE fights
Gear that is easier to obtain and can be used while you work towards the best gear
Crafted:
All of these are tradable and can be bought from other players
No Overland, Dungeon or Trial gear is listed as the Crafted options are superior.
Additional tips
- Use Weapon Damage enchant instead of Frost for trash and AoE fights
Final Setups
A few examples of final setups you could end up with after applying situational rules to the base setup
This is the crafted gear setup you can start with
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Head |
Medium | |||
![]() Shoulders |
Light | |||
![]() Chest |
Light | |||
![]() Hands |
Light | |||
![]() Belt |
Light | |||
![]() Legs |
Light | |||
![]() Boots |
Light | |||
![]() Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Frontbar Main Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Frontbar Off Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Backbar Main Hand |
Greatsword |
This is a setup you should use if you don't have access to any Trial gear
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Head |
Medium | |||
![]() Shoulders |
Light | |||
![]() Chest |
Light | |||
![]() Hands |
Light | |||
![]() Belt |
Light | |||
![]() Legs |
Light | |||
![]() Boots |
Light | |||
![]() Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Frontbar Main Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Frontbar Off Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Backbar Main Hand |
Greatsword |
The best setup for trash and AoE fights
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Head |
Medium | |||
![]() Shoulders |
Light | |||
![]() Chest |
Light | |||
![]() Hands |
Light | |||
![]() Belt |
Light | |||
![]() Legs |
Light | |||
![]() Boots |
Light | |||
![]() Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Frontbar Main Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Frontbar Off Hand |
Dagger | |||
![]() Backbar Main Hand |
Greatsword |
Example of a setup with Destruction Staff on frontbar
| Gear Slot | Set | Weight/Type | Trait | Enchantment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Head |
Medium | |||
![]() Shoulders |
Light | |||
![]() Chest |
Light | |||
![]() Hands |
Light | |||
![]() Belt |
Light | |||
![]() Legs |
Light | |||
![]() Boots |
Light | |||
![]() Necklace |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Ring |
Jewelry | |||
![]() Frontbar Main Hand |
Inferno/Ice Staff | |||
![]() Backbar Main Hand |
Greatsword |
This setup parsed 123k with an Inferno Staff and 117k with an Ice Staff
CHAMPION POINTS
Warfare
Master-at-Arms (6% Direct Damage)
Deadly Aim (6% Single Target)
Wrathful-Strikes (205 Weapon and Spell Damage)
Fighting Finesse (8% Critical Damage and Healing)
Fitness
Boundless Vitality (1400 Max Health)
Fortified (1731 armor)
Siphoning Spells (1500 Magicka on kills)
Rejuvenation (90 Health, Stamina and Magicka Recovery)
ADDITIONAL INFO:
- Replace
Fighting Finesse with
Exploiter if your supports are providing enough Critical Damage for you to reach the 125% cap without
Fighting Finesse - You can use
Celerity in fights where you need more movement speed. Replace the Champion Point which is least useful for that fight, for example replace
Siphoning Spells if a certain fight has no adds you could kill for Magicka
RACE
The difference between best and worst race is about 5% of DPS and there is no content in the entire game that you'd be blocked from completing because of choosing a bad race.
Best race for 12-man content - High Elf, Dark Elf
Best race for 4-man content - Khajiit
Other decent options: Orc, Breton
MUNDUS
You should use
The Thief Mundus, which increases your Critical Chance
ATTRIBUTES
HEALTH
0
STAMINA
0
MAGICKA
64
You should always put all 64 attribute points into Magicka
FOOD
Artaeum Pickled Fish Bowl - Max Health, Max Magicka. Use it for most of regular content.
Solitude Salmon-Millet Soup is a cheaper alternative
Tomato Garlic Chutney - Max Magicka. Use it for practice dummy parsing
POTIONS
Most of the time you should use Tri-Stat potions (Restore Health, Restore Stamina,
Restore
Magicka). They'll greatly improve your sustain. You can craft them by combining
Columbine,
Bugloss
and
Mountain's Flower.
When using a Destruction Staff, you can also use Heroism Potions (Restore Stamina, Restore Magicka, Heroism) which can provide a 100% uptime on Minor Heroism buff which generates
ultimate, but they're expensive because they're crafted by combining
Dragon Rheum,
Dragon's Blood
and
Columbine.
PARSE
Combat Metrics screenshot of the 125k parse
Recording of the 125k parse
OTHER PARSES
Inferno Staff - 123k DPS
GAMEPLAY
Logs of Veteran Trials and Dungeons I've finished using this build
Trials
Veteran Lucent Citadel - https://www.esologs.com/reports/dHbLYPcCnXy6TjMp
Veteran Kyne's Aegis - https://www.esologs.com/reports/GHMq8gvnaBty7KFW
Dungeons
Veteran Hard Mode Scalecaller Peak - https://www.esologs.com/reports/1hNx4BnacbQJkFXt
Veteran Hard Mode Stone Garden - https://www.esologs.com/reports/y9K8v2mV3n7fzR1A
THANKS FOR READING
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